The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans is not even close to the best movie title ever. I actually find it kind of annoying, but I don't hold it against the movie itself. I hardly remember Bad Lieutenant, the 1992 movie starring Harvey Keitel as a similar amoral corrupt drug addict Lieutenant in NY, but whether or not that's for or against this movie probably depends on whether I'd be anywhere close to give it the same reviews as Martin Scorsese. According to Roger Ebert, Scorsese mentioned it among his top ten movies of the 90s. I remember classics like Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Reservoir Dogs and The Usual Suspects, and find it hard to believe I'd think of it amongst those.
Anyways. I had expectations going into this movie. Expectations based of reviews and word of mouth, more than my knowledge of director Werner Herzog or admiration of Nicolas Cage. I'd like to take the time and mention I liked Cage's portrayal of an alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas back in the days. Since then I've rarely admired anything Cage have been involved in, and this is sadly not an exception.
And I've seen bad cops make good movies before. I just don't get much from this one. I'm kind of confused about the two hours I spent watching this. I have no idea why Herzog, Cage and Finkelstein(screenplay) thought this was well worth their energy. It lacks focus and objective and it's not thoughtful, entertaining or even a portrayal of society today. It holds parts and supporting acting that elevates it from the garbage, but it wasn't worth its runtime.
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